title: Distribution and outcome of ocular lesions in snakes examined at a veterinary teaching hospital: 67 cases (1985-2010).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the distribution and clinical outcome of ocular lesions in snakes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  67 snakes with ocular lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Signalment, lesion duration, diagnosis, treatment, and clinical outcome were recorded for all snakes with ocular lesions that were examined at a veterinary teaching hospital from 1985 to 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  71 ocular lesions were detected in 67 of 508 (13%) snakes examined. Affected snakes were of the families Boidae, Pythonidae, Colubridae, and Viperidae. The distribution of ocular lesions did not vary by taxonomic family, age, or sex; however, snakes from the genus Epicrates with ocular lesions were overrepresented in the population. The most commonly diagnosed ocular lesions were retained spectacle (n = 41), pseudobuphthalmos or subspectacular abscess (13), trauma (8), and cataracts (4). Pseudobuphthalmos or subspectacular abscess developed more frequently in Colubridae than in non-Colubridae snakes. Of the 16 snakes with retained spectacles for which data were available, the lesion recurred once in 4 snakes and multiple times in 5 snakes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results indicated that retained spectacle was the most common ocular lesion diagnosed in snakes. Compared with other snakes with ocular lesions, snakes of the genus Epicrates had a higher than expected frequency of ocular lesions in general and snakes of the family Colubridae had a higher than expected frequency of pseudobuphthalmos or subspectacular abscess.
authors.affiliation: William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Jennifer.Hausmann@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jennifer C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hausmann
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Hollingsworth
authors.forename: Michelle G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.forename: Philip H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Kass
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Maggs
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012911:Snakes